Orson Welles’ film Citizen Kane (1941) is significant in the movie world because of the innovations it made not only in technique, but also in how films were conceptualized. It planted seeds for the film noir movement that was to come, and popularized lighting, angling, and transitioning methods filmmakers still use today. But Welles’ greatest legacy in Citizen Kane lies in his ability, through casting, plot, and cinematographic choices, to paint a man whose life is corrupted and ultimately destroyed by an unwavering lust for fulfillment of the “American Dream” through fame, fortune, and power. One technique that Citizen Kane has come to be known for is the use of deep focus shots. These shots required a careful balance of lighting and composition,
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The enabling device of the plot is a reporter’s search for meaning in Kane’s last word, “rosebud.” As he does so, the reporter connects with various people from Kane’s life who each then share their version of part of Kane’s story, and as they do, the film flashes backward or forward to show viewers that scene. One of the most intriguing parts of this task is that by choosing to cover almost the entirety of a man’s life in his film, Welles also had to pioneer the idea of having a cast of characters that could age over the course of a film. From Kane to Thatcher to Susan, we can see clear physical changes in each character that helps the audience to orient themselves chronologically since the storyline does not move linearly. And Welles doesn’t stop at physical appearance; he allows the aging and forgetful conditions of these characters to cast a shadow on their accounts of Kane’s life with just a touch of doubt, as the audience must question if what they are hearing is true considering the sources. This unsureness ultimately contributes to Welle’s painting of Kane as a tortured, complicated man of mystery who leaves the world with more questions than answers, and who, despite all his flaws, invokes sympathy rather than contempt from his
The enabling device of the plot is a reporter’s search for meaning in Kane’s last word, “rosebud.” As he does so, the reporter connects with various people from Kane’s life who each then share their version of part of Kane’s story, and as they do, the film flashes backward or forward to show viewers that scene. One of the most intriguing parts of this task is that by choosing to cover almost the entirety of a man’s life in his film, Welles also had to pioneer the idea of having a cast of characters that could age over the course of a film. From Kane to Thatcher to Susan, we can see clear physical changes in each character that helps the audience to orient themselves chronologically since the storyline does not move linearly. And Welles doesn’t stop at physical appearance; he allows the aging and forgetful conditions of these characters to cast a shadow on their accounts of Kane’s life with just a touch of doubt, as the audience must question if what they are hearing is true considering the sources. This unsureness ultimately contributes to Welle’s painting of Kane as a tortured, complicated man of mystery who leaves the world with more questions than answers, and who, despite all his flaws, invokes sympathy rather than contempt from his